Soak up the Sun
by Secret1
Summary: 5 classes from all over the world have been picked to go on a month-long field trip to the Caribbean to camp out. A lot of weird things happens on the island. It's AU. S&S, C&Z, maybe E&T, I'm not sure...
1. Geography Sweepstakes

AN: Er… Just ignore the fact that since they're from different countries they have different languages. ^.^'  
  
~*~  
  
A yellow cat entered the bright pink room. It stalked up to the occupied bed and crawled up. It nestled down on the girl and licked her cheek.  
  
"Just five more minutes," she whispered tiredly. The cat meowed loudly and the girl peaked open an eye. She drowsily looked around and she picked up her alarm clock.  
  
"Hoeee! I'm late!"  
  
She rolled out of bed and hit her head on the floor. "Ow," she moaned. She jumped up and fell back down because her feet were tangled in the sheets. She untangled her feet and ran into the bathroom. The cat sweat dropped and shook his head. A second later, she slid out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped tightly around her. The cat turned around as Sakura dressed quickly into a pink shirt and a pair of jeans. She grabbed her hairbrush and stopped herself just in time from pouring toothpaste on it.  
  
"Kero, guess what?" Sakura asked through a mouth full of toothpaste. She tugged a sock onto her foot. "Our school won the Geography Sweepstakes! We're going to the Caribbean today! For free!"  
  
She shoved her foot into her shoe and she raced into the bathroom to spit. She ran back outside and proceeded putting on her other sock and shoe. "I can't wait," she continued excitedly. "We were pretty lucky, you know. Schools all over the world entered, and we were one of five schools that were picked."  
  
She plopped down in front of the mirror and put her hair into pigtails. "Well, I'm off! I'll see you in a month!"  
  
After kissing and patting Kero goodbye, she grabbed her suitcase and dragged it outside. Kero tensed and a second later, Sakura screamed, "Hoeee!" and a huge thump was heard at the bottom of the stairs. Kero stretched and laid down on the bed.  
  
~*~  
  
"Alright," Terada-sensei said, gaining everyone's attention. "I must ask you to please hold onto your bags, because they tend to slide away, and if you're about to fall asleep, we advise that you put your bags someplace safe. Your suitcases will be given back to you at the final stop. When we stop in North Africa, you are allowed to get up and walk around for a while. And please, no fighting. The rest of the sensei of the other students and I have our own separate plane. On the stop at North Africa we will come to check up on you." Terada-sensei waved and left the plane.  
  
Sakura waved at Tomoyo from across the plane. They had gotten different tickets and they, sadly, weren't allowed to sit next to each other. The seat beside Sakura was empty, as many of the seats were. The plane was huge and there were only a few Japanese students scattered around on the plane. They were supposed to stop by China first, and then Britain, and then Africa, then America, and then finally the Caribbean.  
  
It was very boring on the way to China. The plane's engines were loud and it felt so deserted as many of the students had fallen asleep. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they stopped at the Hong Kong airport. The Chinese students entered and all of the Japanese students peaked around their chairs to get a better look.  
  
Sakura had just closed her eyes as a boy sat down next to her. The boring process started all over again, and Sakura couldn't help but fall fast asleep. She obliviously leaned over the armrest and onto the person who was sitting next to her. The boy sighed and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to wake her up.  
  
"IF YOU WAKE UP SAKURA I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE, CHINESE BOY!" a screech came, waking up every single person who had fallen asleep, except for Sakura.  
  
The boy blinked and looked up. Across the plane a girl with a video camera was filming Sakura. He decided to keep quiet and not say anything. He wasn't in the mood to be skinned alive.  
  
The boy sighed and looked down at the girl. And besides… She looked peaceful enough. Why wake her up just because he was uncomfortable?  
  
Finally, Sakura rolled over onto her back so she was in a very strange position, making her stir slightly. She opened her jade eyes and looked straight up into brown eyes. She grinned apologetically.  
  
"Hoe… Sorry," she said and she sat up. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura," she said, putting out her hand.  
  
"Li Syaoran," Syaoran said quietly and shook her hand.  
  
"Do you know which country we're in?" She asked through a yawn.  
  
"Somewhere in North Africa," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura looked around and she noticed that most of the seats had been filled and that the plane had stopped. The food lady was going around with sandwiches.  
  
"Hey, Sakura," Tomoyo called. She got out of her seat and walked quickly towards Sakura, only to trip and fall over someone's bag.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" a girl with black hair and ruby eyes yelled angrily.  
  
"Sorry," Tomoyo said timidly as she got up and brushed herself off. She continued over to Sakura. "This is some boring flight, eh?"  
  
Sakura nodded. "I hope the islands are nothing like this."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Tomoyo sighed. She looked at the boy sitting down next to Sakura, and Syaoran recognized her for the girl that threatened to skin him alive. "Hey, can you go move? I want to sit next to Sakura for a while."  
  
Syaoran shrugged and stood up. He looked around and found an empty seat next to Meilin. He sighed and walked over to her.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran," she said happily, and then she jabbed her thumb at the two girls Syaoran had just left. "Japanese girls… I don't understand why a Japanese class had to win also."  
  
Syaoran nodded and sat down next to her. "The one with the green eyes seemed nice enough anyways, though," he said, gazing out of the window next to Meilin.  
  
"Yeah, I guess-"  
  
Meilin was cut off by a shout and two boys were suddenly sprawled on the ground, throwing punches at each other. They jumped up and threw themselves at each other again, trying to get the other down onto the ground. The British jumped up and tried to pry the two apart, but everyone else cheered them on.  
  
Suddenly, a girl with glasses thrust herself in front of the two and smacked both of them over the head. "Do you really think fighting will get a nice reputation for Europe?" she asked with a strong British accent.  
  
She glowered at the two boys. One had deep blue eyes and ashen hair, and the other had dark black hair and violet eyes with glasses that were sliding down his nose.  
  
"Well, Eriol, Cohn?" she asked. "Do you think it will get us a good reputation?"  
  
She rested her hands angrily on her hips and waited for an answer. Eriol sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, Cohn," he muttered.  
  
Cohn sneered and shoved Eriol to the floor. "You stupid pea brain. Do you really sink so low to listen to a girl? Especially if that girl is the leader of a bookworm club. What do think she's going to do? Hit you?" Cohn laughed.  
  
The girl growled and turned to Cohn, and before anyone knew it, she had kneed him in the place that hurts most and sent him sprawled to the ground.  
  
"Naoko!" Eriol gasped.  
  
"He deserved that one," Naoko snarled and stepped on his stomach.  
  
Eriol grabbed Naoko by the arms and pulled her away. "Don't kill him-"  
  
"He'd take death as a blessing when I'm through with him!" Naoko cut in, trying to escape his grip.  
  
"Remember! The reputation!"  
  
Naoko calmed down and Eriol let go of her. "Just remember, Cohn… I may be a girl, but I can fight better than any boy," and with that, Naoko sat back down in her seat, followed by Eriol, who was sitting next to her.  
  
Everyone gaped at Naoko.  
  
The plane door opened and everyone whirled around to see more students enter. They stood at the front of the plane and waited for their teacher to enter.  
  
"Ashanti, who do you think is the hottest guy on this plane?" a girl with black hair and blue eyes whispered to a tanned girl looked like she was originally from India. She tucked a lock of her silky black hair behind her ear, and she smiled at most of the boys who were just staring at her.  
  
Ashanti scanned the plane and stopped at a boy with dark auburn and deep root beer eyes. "That one," she whispered, pointing at Syaoran, one of the few boys who wasn't staring at the girl.  
  
"I agree," Boston smirked.  
  
"He's all yours," Ashanti replied, a small smirk playing on her lips as well.  
  
The teacher entered and he gave orders to the Africans of what to do and what not to do. When he left, the students went quietly to their seats, all of them ignoring the amazed gazes of the British, Japanese, and Chinese, except for Boston who was still flashing flirtatious smiles at the boys.  
  
Everyone who had moved had to move back so the Africans could have their seats. They all went back to their regular calling across the plane and walking over to stand next to his or her friends. When the teachers entered, though, the plane fell silent.  
  
The teachers explained that they agreed that the cabins wouldn't be co-ed (much to the dismay of the students).  
  
"Damn it all. Then I won't be able to be around that guy," Boston muttered angrily to Ashanti.  
  
"How do you know that you would even be in his cabin if it was co-ed?" Ashanti whispered back.  
  
"Destiny would've had it that way," Boston said in a voice that made Ashanti know not to question her.  
  
During the pit stop, it seemed that the students talked about everything in the world, so when the plane went back up for America, it was so silent anyone could probably hear a pin rattle around in the noisy engines. Then again, maybe it was so silent because everyone had fallen fast asleep.  
  
But then, a screech woke up everyone.  
  
"What is it, Meilin?" Syaoran asked groggily.  
  
"My bag! It's gone!"  
  
"You mean that red one I tripped over?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Yes!" Meilin yelled. She glared at everyone in the room. "Alright, who did it? Where's my bag?"  
  
Everyone shrugged and looked around at each other. "It must be around here somewhere," one person muttered, and another said, "She probably just misplaced it."  
  
"Don't go jumping to conclusions," Syaoran advised.  
  
"I'll kill whoever took that bag," Meilin growled. She looked at Xiang who was sitting right next to her.  
  
"Hey, don't look at me," he said, putting his hands up in defense. "I didn't take it."  
  
"Then who?" Meilin muttered.  
  
"Who took the cookie from the cookie jar," Sakura giggled. Meilin glared at Sakura, but Tomoyo, Eena, Nadine, Miki, and Meyer had already started singing along with Sakura, and soon all of the Japanese students were singing loudly. Meilin, Ling, Kiyo, Rei, and Miho started to glare angrily at the Japanese students, and some of the Chinese boys shoved at the Japanese boys. The British students started to get into the shoving and singing also, and the Africans merely sat still and watched.  
  
When the plane door opened, only the Africans noticed, and they watched the students enter. It was only when the American girls started to sing along happily that everyone started to notice the new students that entered the plane.  
  
A girl was latched onto one of the guys. It seemed it was a staring contest between the Americans and the Japanese, Chinese, British, and Africans.  
  
"Hi?" the girl that was latched onto the boy said timidly, making all of the Americans crack up. They sat down in their seats and waited for the plane to take flight.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong?" an American girl asked Meilin, who still looked like she was in a panic.  
  
"I lost my bag."  
  
"It probably just slid away or something," the girl that was latched onto the guy said from next to Tomoyo.  
  
All of the Americans agreed and as if on cue they looked underneath the chairs.  
  
"Is it red?" the same girl from next to Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Yeah!" Rei answered for Meilin.  
  
The girl picked up a red bag and tossed it over to Meilin. "There you go!"  
  
Meilin thanked the girl repeatedly, and was even thanking her long after the plane took flight.  
  
"Hey, what're you filming?" the girl asked Tomoyo.  
  
"Kinomoto Sakura," Tomoyo whispered ecstatically. She pointed at Sakura and the girl giggled.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She's so interesting- Hey, why's that Chinese guy staring at her?" Tomoyo cut her self off with a whisper.  
  
"Looks like he has puppy love!" she whispered back to Tomoyo. "Oh, by the way, I'm Chelsea."  
  
"Tomoyo," Tomoyo said, putting out a hand. "I don't want to seem nosy, but who's that guy you were latched onto? He's cute."  
  
"That's Zachery; Zach for short," Chelsea said. "And I hate him! But still…" she sighed. "He can be sweet at times. Just make sure you don't fall for any of his fake stories," Chelsea said, throwing a glance at Zach who had a seat in the back. "Hey, I just got an idea," Chelsea said in a hurried whisper. "Why don't we get those two together?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Sakura and that Chinese guy who's staring at her," Chelsea said happily.  
  
"Oh, what a great idea!" Tomoyo cheered silently. She continued filming Syaoran absently staring at Sakura. "It'll be so much fun."  
  
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear," a girl said, peaking over the chairs. "I'd like to help, though. I love match making."  
  
"Sure, Rika!" Tomoyo laughed. "This'll be so much fun."  
  
And so the plane continued it's flight to the Caribbean islands.  
  
END of prologue 


	2. The Ghost of Vivica J'ales

AN: Thanks for all of the reviews!  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
It was said that Water Island was haunted. Local fishermen always came to this island for the plentiful fish the island supplied, and not one fisherman had come back without a wild story about the ghost of Water Island. 'I swear, I heard her!' they would always say, and while some would roll their eyes, others would buy them drinks and listen to their stories for hours.  
  
Many say that the ghost was a poltergeist that just wanted people off of the island. But some were convinced it was the ghost of Vivica J'ales. The story had been told what must have been millions of times.  
  
'There was once a girl named Vivica J'ales,' was how the story would always begin. The story would, from there, set out to explain how on the night of the Cabalas Dance, this Vivica J'ales would kayak out to Water Island after her sister, Vivian J'ales. Vivian J'ales had earlier went to Water Island and didn't return to the point where Vivica J'ales was worried.  
  
While Vivian J'ales returned hours later, Vivica J'ales never returned.  
  
Some say that a vicious wave pulled Vivica out to sea. Others say that Vivica got lost and died from starvation. But there's one thing everyone agrees on: Once a year, on the night of the Cabalas Dance, Vivica J'ales would return in search of her sister.  
  
~*~  
  
"How do you like that?" Chelsea muttered from the bush.  
  
Tomoyo continued filming while Naoko, Sakura, and Rika tried their hardest not to burst out laughing. From behind the bush, Chelsea could see all too clearly, and as much as she wanted to get up and walk away, she was stuck watching. It wasn't like she was being forced to stay or anything… In fact, if anyone was about to force her to leave, she would probably kill them. How could she ever miss an opportunity like this?  
  
From the beach, Zach was lying down on the sand, staring up at the sky. Eriol was up in a tree, reaching for a coconut, and Syaoran was busy trying to get away from Mo and Cohn who had jumped him and were trying to dunk him under the water because, as they had said, 'He's too quiet.'  
  
But that wasn't the reason the girls were so busy watching them and laughing. They could also see their shirts and their pants in a pile underneath the palm tree Eriol was trying to get a coconut, and Chelsea couldn't wait to threaten Zach with the tape.  
  
Eriol finally grabbed onto hold of a coconut and dropped down onto the ground. He walked over to Zach and sat down next to him; he tossed the coconut up and down a few times before asking, "Do you think we should help Syaoran?"  
  
Syaoran made a wild dash for shore, but Cohn jumped on his back in such away it would be to ordinary belief that he had broken Syaoran's back. But a few seconds later, Syaoran submerged and he yelped when Mo put him up into a healthy headlock and dunked him over and over and over again. Cohn grabbed Syaoran's legs to make him stop kicking and Mo and Cohn laughed sadistically.  
  
Zach and Eriol looked at each other, then back out at Syaoran, Mo, and Cohn. "Nah," they both said with a laugh.  
  
"How much do you think we should sell this for?" Naoko murmured.  
  
"About 10," Chelsea replied.  
  
"10 dollars?" Tomoyo asked in shock, looking at Chelsea.  
  
"No way! 10 thousand!" Chelsea laughed evilly, making the girls back away from her slightly. "Lets reveal ourselves!"  
  
The girls all nodded and they jumped out of the bush, all of them giggling madly and triumphantly.  
  
Mo and Cohn stopped trying to shove Syaoran under the water and Mo lessened the headlock he had on Syaoran out of shock. Syaoran even stopped struggling as he just stared at the girls laughing. He couldn't even blush because he was in such shock.  
  
Zach could, though. He turned scarlet, and Eriol didn't even know what to do.  
  
"Hah! I have you in my hands, Zach!" Chelsea cheered. "I can sell this tape! I can put it up on our school website!"  
  
Zach glared at Chelsea and he jumped up. "Hey, now wait one darn second! You can't do that!"  
  
"I can and I will!" Chelsea yelled back. "That is… If you do something for me."  
  
Zach sighed. "Like what?"  
  
"Be my slave," Chelsea said simply. "ALL of you."  
  
The boys were about to protest when a far off voice came to them. It was like someone was calling a name. The person was getting closer and closer, because the voice was getting louder and louder. But then it started to fade.  
  
"Am I going crazy…? Or did all of you just hear that?" Naoko asked.  
  
"I heard that," Eriol said, standing up. But then he looked down and he blushed. "Eh… Can't you girls leave already?"  
  
"Jeez… It's not like we've never seen boxers before," Sakura said, and all of the girls turned around to leave.  
  
"Yeah, I've seen plenty of Zach's," Chelsea said with an evil grin and they left.  
  
" 'Plenty of Zach's,'?" Cohn asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy, who just grinned nervously.  
  
~*~  
  
"Boy… How was that for a first day?" Cohn muttered angrily. He sat down on his bed and glared at Zach. "And it's all your fault. If your stupid girlfriend didn't have a grudge against you, we wouldn't have to be their dumb slaves!"  
  
"It's not that bad," Mo muttered.  
  
"Not that bad?!" Eriol yelled.  
  
"Hey, calm down," Zach said. "We'll get our way out of this…"  
  
"How?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Er… Ideas?" Zach asked, looking around at the four boys.  
  
"If we had ideas we would've already told you!" Cohn shouted.  
  
"Why don't you just sweet talk your way out of it?" Syaoran murmured, and four boys turned around and stared at him.  
  
"You know… That's actually a pretty good idea," Zach said, his face lighting up. "Of course, we still have that other plan-"  
  
All of a sudden, the girls burst in the room, deep in conversation, but a few more people had joined the group: Boston, Meilin, Ashanti, and another older girl the boys had never seen before.  
  
Boston instantly glomped Syaoran, making Chelsea, Rika, and Tomoyo glare at her. Meilin, however, was furious.  
  
"Get your hands off of him!" Meilin yelled.  
  
"Hey, don't you think you should introduce Carrie to the boys," Boston said smugly, rubbing her cheek against Syaoran who was eyeing her, as if he was afraid that if he made a sudden move she would bite him.  
  
"That's Zach, that's Syaoran, that's Cohn, that's Eriol, and that's Mo," Ashanti said quietly, pointing at who was who.  
  
"This is Carrie Hamilton," Sakura grinned. "She's the tour-guide; she's from the main island."  
  
"Hello," Carrie said with a slight French accent. Carrie smiled down at them and then her gaze rested on Syaoran. "Oh, and so you're Syaoran," she continued with a smile. "Oh, how the girls were fighting over you."  
  
Syaoran blushed a deep scarlet.  
  
"Who you be going to the Cabalas Dance with?" Carrie continued, not seeming to see Syaoran's reaction.  
  
"The what?" Cohn asked from his bed.  
  
"The Cabalas Dance! Oi! Don't be telling me that your teacher not tell you about the Cabalas Dance! Famous dance, it is. Once a year. Everyone be going to the Cabalas Dance! Even the fishermen be stopping their fishing to go to the Cabalas Dance! It on the main island, and it is tomorrow! I'll be convincing your teacher to let you be going, don't you worry! Oh, yes, but I must warn you… Don't be going out onto the beach on Cabalas Dance night…"  
  
"Why not?" Rika asked curiously.  
  
The girls sat down on the beds to get comfortable while Carrie ran a hand through her long black hair.  
  
"The ghost of Vivica J'ales do be coming out on that night, yes…"  
  
Sakura flinched at the word, 'Ghost,' and Carrie noticed it.  
  
"But no worrying. I say the ghost of Vivica J'ales is hogwash. A trick of the light, I say. Every Cabalas Dance night there be fog and there be full moon. And what with all of the stories running through these silly fishermen head… And then those stories about Vivica searching for her sister, Vivica? It just be the wind the trees, yes… It fake, it be. No worrying. Ah, look at the time!" Carrie cried when she had glanced at the clock on the wall. "I be going, yes. Good evening to you all; and I will be surely talking to your teacher about letting you go to the Cabalas Dance. A sight it will be, yes!" And Carrie left.  
  
"Do you think it's just a trick of the light?" Naoko asked. "I hope it isn't… I love ghosts!"  
  
"I would be ale to film it," Tomoyo said.  
  
Chelsea threw a pillow at Zach. "Don't even start! The first ghost did not come from out in space!"  
  
Zach smirked and rubbed his nose as if he had been hurt from the pillow. He threw the pillow back at Chelsea, but she ducked and the pillow hit Rika in the head. Rika threw back a pillow at Chelsea, but she ducked and it hit Syaoran, who had seen it coming but couldn't move because Boston was still latched onto him.  
  
Mo, Eriol, Cohn, and Zach laughed, but pillows flew in at them and hit them in their heads, and soon everyone, even Syaoran, was in the middle of a pillow fight.  
  
Sakura was playing also, but her mind kept wandering. What if the ghost is real…?  
  
~*~  
  
"IT'S GONE!!!"  
  
Every girl in the cabin instantly sat up. They looked around quickly, then their eyes rested on Chelsea, who was pulling at her hair.  
  
"What's gone?" Ashanti asked, climbing out of bed, and was soon followed by every girl so that a circle was formed around Chelsea.  
  
"The tape! Those little…! Ugh! We have to get the tape back!" Tomoyo growled. "Let's split up. Rika, Chelsea, you guys come with me," Tomoyo glanced at Sakura, and Sakura merely smiled understandingly. "Ashanti, Naoko," Tomoyo continued, happy to see that her best friend wasn't upset about not being in the same group, "you two can be together. That leaves Boston, Meilin, and Sakura. Lets go find that tape!"  
  
"Yeah!" all of the girls cheered.  
  
~*~  
  
"I can't believe I agreed to this," Boston muttered, stepping carefully over a fallen palm tree. Sakura and Meilin climbed quickly over it.  
  
"Quit your complaining and let's go find those stupid guys," Meilin demanded as she looked around.  
  
"Who are you to give me orders?" Boston retorted dangerously.  
  
"Hey, do you think the guys might be hiding out by the beach?" Sakura asked, trying to avert the two girls from the thoughts of a fight.  
  
"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Boston yelled at Sakura.  
  
"Why don't you leave her alone?" Meilin yelled at Boston.  
  
Sakura sighed and continued walking.  
  
"Any person who is trying to get Syaoran is an enemy of mine," Boston growled. "Which makes you my enemy," Boston said, glaring at Meilin, "and which makes her my enemy," she continued, changing her glare to Sakura's back, who instantly screeched to a stop at that statement.  
  
"Say what?" Sakura asked, turning around.  
  
"You heard me," Boston snarled. "You're trying to steal Syaoran away from me. Don't even pretend you don't give him those flirt-smiles and that you don't notice him staring at you while you always show off."  
  
"Boston, get a clue! You will never have Syaoran! I will never have Syaoran! He just doesn't think of me that way! And if he is starting to like Sakura, then you're just going to have to deal with it! Get over it and leave Syaoran alone!"  
  
Sakura stared at the two, then blinked, and then turned around to walk off again.  
  
"And where do you think you're going?" Boston yelled after Sakura.  
  
"I'm going to look for the guys," Sakura replied calmly.  
  
"Vivian!"  
  
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and turned pale. She turned around slowly to see Boston's black skin become blotched with light brown and dark brown, and she saw Meilin's skin become snow white.  
  
"D… Did… D-did you guys… Just…. Did you guys just here that?" Meilin whispered.  
  
"Vivian!" the voice called again.  
  
"Vivian… From the ghost story…" Sakura whispered.  
  
"You guys… Tonight is the Cabalas Dance," Boston whispered.  
  
"Vivian!" the voice screeched, becoming louder and louder.  
  
Sakura, Meilin, and Boston were running before they even realized it. They were running, and they continued running, and they ran even when thunder boomed ahead and it started to pour rain.  
  
They ran right into a dark cave and stood there, panting, trying to catch their breath. Boston was clutching the side of her stomach. Meilin was looking around, catching everything in the corner of her eye. Sakura was about to faint.  
  
"Vivian!" the voice was fading, but even then the girls jumped and started running again, until they ran right onto the beach where the waves crashed onto the beach.  
  
"Girls! There they are! There are the girls!" Carrie cried. She waved hurriedly for the girls to come into their cabin, and they did so happily.  
  
"What took you?" Chelsea giggled. "We got the tape back from Zach about two hours ago! You missed lunch, too!"  
  
"Whoa, you look like you've just seen a ghost," Naoko laughed.  
  
Sakura, Boston, and Meilin exchanged glances as they stood; they were tense, and stood like statues. Thunder boomed again and the three jumped.  
  
"What's wrong?" Rika asked worriedly.  
  
"Yes, what it be?" Carrie asked. She guided the three to sit down and she asked Ashanti to bring some towels before the three caught cold.  
  
"The ghost of Vivica," Sakura whispered.  
  
"We… We…" Boston started, but was unable to finish.  
  
"We heard her," Meilin finished for her.  
  
"Hogwash," Carrie said, shaking her head. "Probably just hearing things, I say."  
  
"But we all heard it!" Boston cried.  
  
"Hogwash," Carrie said again. "The wind and the trees do be liking to play tricks on youngsters like yourselves. I be telling you so."  
  
Still, Sakura, Meilin, and Boston weren't anywhere near convinced. Tomoyo, Chelsea, Naoko, Ashanti, and Rika were looking a little worried themselves.  
  
"Ah, no worries," Carrie said. "And anyways, we have much to worry about, and it isn't about no ghost. What will we be doing about this Dance tonight? You will be allowed to go, yes… But I'm not feeling so great about letting children out in rain."  
  
"We can go!" Boston said, nearly instantly forgetting about the ghost.  
  
"You only want to go so you can hang all over Syaoran and call it dancing!" Meilin yelled.  
  
"I'm sure," Rika muttered.  
  
"No fighting, my girls. Syaoran will dance with you all, I'm sure."  
  
"I don't want Syaoran," Chelsea said.  
  
"We know, we know," Naoko sighed. "You want Zach."  
  
"Hahaha, very funny," Chelsea muttered.  
  
"I know," Naoko smiled innocently, making all of the girls giggle.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
The rain had calmed itself, and before anyone knew it, the five classes were getting ready to kayak over to the main island for the Cabalas Dance. They were all excited and all that could be heard was the chatter between the students.  
  
"Order, order!" a teacher called over the talking. It suddenly became silent. "Thank you. Please, do not lag behind and do not race ahead. Stay with the group at all times and do not, and I repeat, do not cause any mischief. Ms. Carrie Hamilton will be coming along to help."  
  
Everyone climbed into their kayak and, after a quick lesson from Carrie, they pushed off from shore and started for the main island. s  
  
All except a few boys.  
  
"Whew, that was close," Zach said loudly. "Okay… Let's get that tape back-"  
  
"Nice try," Chelsea said, and stepping out from behind a cabin was, she, Rika, Tomoyo, Meilin, Boston, and Sakura  
  
"Argh! Will you ever leave us alone so we can accomplish something?!" Cohn yelled.  
  
"Quiet, before you wake up the ghost," Eriol said, with a small sneer.  
  
"IT WAS YOU!" Meilin, Boston, and Sakura yelled.  
  
"Of course," Mo said. "Who did you think it was?"  
  
But none of the girls could answer. They were too busy staring behind the boys at the beach where the fog was creeping in. And before any of the boys knew it, the girls were screaming their heads off. The boys soon joined when they turned around, however.  
  
In a panicked rush, the students made there way towards the palm tree forest and away from the beach… FAR away from the beach… because Vivica stood there, as plain as ever.  
  
The students separated. The girls had rushed to the right while the boys rushed to the left. They had no idea where they were going, but they continued running, dodging the fallen trees and the rocks.  
  
"Vivian?!"  
  
The girls screeched to a stop and ran in the opposite direction. Soon, they had ended up by the beach again, but once again, they screeched to a stop when they saw the boys rolling on the sand, laughing their heads off, with Carrie chuckling slightly beside them.  
  
"Carrie?!" the girls yelled.  
  
"I be telling you the fog and the moon play tricks of light… But the guys needed a shadow, so I stood in the fog for them."  
  
"But… But…" Chelsea stuttered.  
  
Zach held up the tape. "Hah! So I win after all!"  
  
"But Carrie… What about the dance?"  
  
"Ah… I was trying to get you girls to stay here one way or another, I was… I was hoping the rain would hold you up, I was… Turns out Zach was right, though… You stayed anyways to guard the tape."  
  
"But then why did you guys tell us about yelling out, 'Vivian,' just now?"  
  
"To make it seem more real, of course," Eriol said with a shrug.  
  
"Carrie! How could you?" Meilin demanded.  
  
"I beg pardon, girls, but the guys really be needing my help. We still friends, we still are… Right?"  
  
The girls nodded quickly. "Of course," they all said.  
  
"That be good," Carrie said.  
  
"So then is the ghost real?" Sakura asked.  
  
"No one knows," Carrie said with a shrug.  
  
"What! You told us you thought the ghost was hogwash!" Boston yelled.  
  
"Be calming yourself, child. I only say that so you wouldn't be suspecting me to be part of the 'Ghost of Vivica' if you started to be figuring it out."  
  
"They had no clue, though," Cohn laughed.  
  
Chelsea glared.  
  
"Ah, come on… You know it was funny," Zach said, putting his arm around her shoulder, but she merely looked the other way, crossed her arms, and stuck her nose up into the air.  
  
"Eh…" Carrie sighed. "But anyways… We will be going to the Dance right about now, no?"  
  
"Yeah!" Boston, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meilin cheered.  
  
"Yes, we should," Carrie said, and the group made it down to the beach where there were extra kayaks. "Plenty girls will be disappointed if the, 'Silent Chinese Boy,' as they call him, doesn't show up," Carrie said, throwing a glance at Syaoran, who went scarlet again.  
  
"He's so quiet, and yet all of the girls are hanging all over him," Cohn said, shaking his head as he climbed into the kayak. "Girls. I will never understand girls."  
  
"As if," Boston retorted.  
  
"You know, that last prank was really good, though," Sakura said. "I really thought it was real."  
  
"Yes, well, the fog do be doing that sometimes."  
  
"No, no, she means the, 'Vivian?!' part," Tomoyo said.  
  
Chelsea smirked when she saw an opening. Zach wasn't gripping the tape as tightly because he looked confused, and she grabbed the tape and handed it to Tomoyo. But Zach didn't even seem to care. He was just blinking, then he looked at Carrie to see if he missed something, but she seemed just as confused as all of the boys did.  
  
"What do you be talking about?" Carrie asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.  
  
"You know," Chelsea said. " 'Vivian?!' When we were in the palm tree forest and we split up?"  
  
"We didn't call her name out," Mo said.  
  
"Yeah. We were busy getting back to the cabins," Eriol explained.  
  
The girls blinked, then looked at each other, and they all turned pale.  
  
"Quit messing around," Zach said.  
  
"Seriously… You're freaking me out," Syaoran added.  
  
"The guy doesn't speak much, but when he does speak, he's speaking for all of us," Mo said.  
  
"But…" Sakura said.  
  
"If… That wasn't you…" Meilin muttered.  
  
"Then…?" Boston trailed off.  
  
"Who…?" Chelsea asked, but she was already starting to get the picture and she couldn't continue.  
  
"Who was it?" Tomoyo asked, feeling slightly fearful.  
  
…  
  
"Lets be getting out of here, no?"  
  
"YES!" everyone yelled, and they pushed off with their kayaks towards the main island for the Cabalas dance. 


	3. The Love of Ai Evermore

There was once a girl named Ai Evermore. She was a beautiful girl with a beautiful name, but she was bad business. She belonged to a family of which was accused for witchcraft and wizardry, and because of that the islanders shunned her and her secluded family.  
  
That never dampened Ai Evermore's ongoing spirits. She always went to the main island, despite the cold stares sent her way. On the main island, Ai found the man of her dreams, and they were two young teenagers very much in love. The man and Ai would always say farewell underneath an old, dead tree next to Ai's home.  
  
One night, however, that would all change. An angry mob from the main island had come and set the Evermore family's house on fire and they slaughtered the family, even the baby.  
  
Before the death of Ai Evermore, the murders could've sworn she was casting a spell of some sort. Nothing weird had happened to the murders and they had grown very old, however. In fact, after the killing the only weird thing that had ever happened at the deserted house was that the dead tree had blossomed a flower.  
  
~*~  
  
"Will you ever leave Syaoran alone?" Eriol asked Boston, who was latched onto Syaoran's arm once again.  
  
"Will you ever mind your own business?" Boston snapped back.  
  
"Why don't you just go find your girl friends?" Cohn asked, waving a hand at Boston, as if dismissing her.  
  
Zach sighed at the thought of Chelsea and started walking again; the boys followed him, including Syaoran. Boston was being dragged for a second before she jumped up and snuggled against Syaoran's shoulder.  
  
"Because I want to stay with Syaoran," Boston said simply.  
  
The boys sighed and they all continued the walk towards the forest. The group silently walked down the fairly smooth path. The palm trees were shading them form the broiling sun above them for the most part, but they were still soaked from sweat.  
  
"Let's take a break," Boston demanded and gripped onto Syaoran tighter, making him stop suddenly. He clenched his teeth tightly so he wouldn't yell off at Boston, but she was awfully close to being yelled at. She was past annoying.  
  
"We didn't make you come," Zach said with a shrug.  
  
Mo turned around so he was walking backwards, and he opened his mouth to protest, but there was a large item in the middle of the path, which made Mo trip and fall. "Ow," he moaned.  
  
Boston let go of Syaoran and rushed forward to help Mo up. The boys, besides Syaoran (he was busy rubbing his bruised arm from Boston's grip), were laughing their heads off.  
  
"Jeez, what was that?" Cohn asked, still chuckling slightly. He kneeled down next to where Boston was kneeling and where Mo was still rubbing his butt. Cohn picked up the rock and gasped. "Wow," he said, and he flipped it over with both of his hands (it was pretty heavy) for better expectation. "This looks like a piece of a vase."  
  
"How do you know?" Eriol asked, kneeling down beside them.  
  
"Yeah," Zach said, putting his hands behind his head. "That could be anything."  
  
"Because it has paintings on it, dimwits," Cohn answered, holding up the charred, yet valuable piece of vase. On the vase was a scratched painting of a snake and a dove.  
  
"That's beautiful," Boston said, snatching away the vase, and chucking it into the forest. "Now let's go."  
  
Cohn glared at Boston and he jumped up to go look for the vase. Boston stood up, gave Mo a hand, and rolled her eyes after Cohn. Cohn was looking around wildly; he disappeared behind a bush.  
  
"Cohn! Stop fooling around!" Zach called after him.  
  
"Yeah, Cohn, let's go," Eriol added.  
  
"You guys! Oh… Oh my gosh! You guys have to come check this out!"  
  
"Cohn!" Boston yelled.  
  
"No, seriously! Check this out!"  
  
They sighed, but they went into the bush after Cohn, and they were suddenly glad they did. It wasn't much… It wasn't great… It was just that they hadn't realized houses used to be on this island… Especially houses that had been in a fire. It was horrible, but it was still pretty cool.  
  
"What do you think happened to burn down this house?" Mo whispered.  
  
"I don't know," Boston muttered back. "But it must've been terrible. I hope the family got out safely."  
  
Eriol stayed behind with Syaoran. "What do you think happened?"  
  
Syaoran shrugged. "Lightening storm? Mob?"  
  
"A mob?" Eriol laughed.  
  
"Hey, that'd be pretty cool," Zach said. He picked up a stick stabbed it at Eriol. "En guard!"  
  
Eriol smirked and picked up a stick.  
  
They were about to get into a nice stick fight when Boston screamed at the top of her lungs, making both of them drop their sticks out of shock.  
  
"What? What is it?" Mo asked hurriedly, and gasped when he saw why she had screamed.  
  
"I… guess the family didn't get out," Cohn muttered.  
  
~*~  
  
"Yes, there be fire on this island."  
  
"When?" Eriol asked.  
  
"About," Carrie said, calculating around what time the fire had been, "about five years ago."  
  
"Five?" Boston asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"There be thousands of fires on this island, there be," Carrie said, waving her arms around. She sat back down on the cabin step and went back to sketching the palm tree, leaving the group to continue standing by the doorway. The group sighed and walked off down towards the beach.  
  
"Do you think we should tell the girls?" Zach muttered after a while, walking slightly in the foaming water.  
  
"No way," Mo said instantly.  
  
"They'd laugh," Boston added.  
  
"They'd ignore us," Cohn sighed.  
  
"They wouldn't believe us," Eriol concluded.  
  
"Then what do we do?" Syaoran asked.  
  
They all shrugged.  
  
"Well, then, bye," Syaoran said, he started walking back towards the palm forest.  
  
"Where are you going?" Eriol called.  
  
"Back to the burnt house," Syaoran yelled back.  
  
"What!" Boston yelled. She wanted to be around Syaoran, but to go back to that creepy place with that dead girl? She'd rather not. She sighed and went back into the cabin, and was shortly followed by everyone else.  
  
~*~  
  
"I don't see what the big problem is," Syaoran muttered, and he eyed the burnt house. Suddenly, a wind blew, and he didn't know why, but he just had to look away from the house. His eyes landed instantly on a fully blooming tree right next to the burnt house. The flowers reminded him of peonies and he instantly missed home. He sighed and walked up to the tree to pick a flower, and as soon as his hand touched a soft petal, he felt his body go into a shock. Syaoran felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice- cold water on him.  
  
Syaoran backed away from the tree. What was that? He looked down at the flower.  
  
~*~  
  
"Yeah, it was a house in the palm forest," Boston said, staring at Carrie. "Why?"  
  
"None of you guys be touching a flower of a tree next to it, right?" she asked, suddenly rounding on the boys. The boys shook their heads. "That be good," Carrie sighed in relief.  
  
"Say, where's Syaoran?" Sakura asked, looking around.  
  
"He said he was going back to the house," Eriol answered.  
  
Carrie looked up, her eyes bulging. "That not be good."  
  
"You keep saying it's not good, but why?" Chelsea asked.  
  
"There be no time to explain. Tomoyo, Rika, Naoko, Meilin, you four girls be going to Terada-sensei and tell him I be taking you all on a field trip. Eriol, Cohn, Zach, Mo, run ahead and get Syaoran. If he be in a state where he just tuned out, yell at him and make him come back in instantly. Chelsea, Ashanti, Sakura, and Boston, you be coming with me. We be running after the boys. Now go! Quick!"  
  
~*~  
  
"Who are you?" Syaoran whispered. His vision was fading, but he could see a girl in front of him who was becoming clearer.  
  
"My love," the girl whispered. She smiled and walked up to Syaoran. "You've come back for me."  
  
"What's going on?" Syaoran was greatly confused.  
  
"You've come back," she whispered.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Syaoran shouted. He shook his head and opened his eyes. He blinked and tried to clear his focus, but it wasn't getting any better.  
  
"Don't pretend, my love," the girl whispered, and her arms encircled Syaoran's neck. "Just one kiss, my love."  
  
"Syaoran! Syaoran, snap out of it!"  
  
The girl suddenly disappeared into thin air. Syaoran blinked and dropped the flower he was holding in his hand. "What…?"  
  
He looked over to where Cohn, Zach, Eriol, and Mo were standing.  
  
"Are you okay?" Eriol asked.  
  
"Seriously… You're pale and you're shaking," Mo observed.  
  
"And your eyes are unfocused," Zach added.  
  
"Carrie is coming," Cohn said, looking down the path. "Now maybe we'll get an explanation of this whole burned down house thing."  
  
Carrie, Boston, Ashanti, and Sakura arrived. They were all breathless, but Carrie nonetheless ran over to Syaoran and looked him over.  
  
"That be close, yes!" Carrie sighed.  
  
"What is this all about?" Cohn demanded.  
  
"The 'Silent Chinese Boy' has another girl wanting him," Carrie replied simply.  
  
"Huh?" everyone chorused.  
  
"Who?" Boston insisted.  
  
"Ai Evermore."  
  
Everyone exchanged glances and looked over at Carrie to see if she was finally loosing it… all except for Syaoran, who seemingly understood all of a sudden.  
  
"You do know what this be meaning, right, Syaoran?" Carrie asked Syaoran quietly, and she continued after Syaoran shook his head, "You be loving her back. You be under her spell, and you not be realizing it now, but you be loving her even now. You be wanting to see her again, no?"  
  
Syaoran couldn't deny it. She was like an illusion that was perfected. He sighed and nodded his head, much to the anger of Boston. She was about to open her mouth, but Eriol clamped his hand over her mouth.  
  
Syaoran felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he turned around to se Sakura's smiling eyes. "So then we get to arrange your next meeting?"  
  
Syaoran blushed. Carrie saved him the trouble of having to answer the question, however.  
  
"No, no, see, Syaoran is in love with the tree."  
  
Eriol, Mo, Cohn, and Zach went reeling to the ground from how hard they were laughing. They were beating the ground with their fists and clutching their stomachs. The girls couldn't help but giggle.  
  
Carrie sighed and rolled her eyes. "A girl that be putting a spell on the tree, is what I be meaning. Syaoran be loving that girl. That girl be named Ai Evermore. She be dead from fire. Syaoran done touch flower and now he be posing as girl's dead lover."  
  
"Is there any way to get him to fall out of love with this girl?" Boston asked.  
  
"Kiss a girl you be having feelings for," Carrie replied. She bit her lip, and then she continued, "or don't kiss Ai for about five days. If he does kiss Ai, he be in love with Ai forever. It near impossible not to kiss Ai, though. Syaoran, do you be wanting to kiss that girl?"  
  
Instantly, Syaoran was nodding. It was like he couldn't even control his head.  
  
"That be what I thought. Well, which one of these girls do you be having feelings for?" Carrie asked.  
  
Syaoran shrugged. He knew very much which girl he had the slightest feeling for, but why tell the whole world? He could survive.  
  
"Oh, I just be remembering!" Carrie cheered. "A vase! There be a vase that will be breaking the spell once Syaoran be touching it! A dove be on it to be symbolizing Ai, and a snake to be symbolizing Ai's lover. Once Syaoran be touching it, Ai be forced to let Syaoran go."  
  
Cohn turned to Boston and glared. "Just great! You just had to go throw that vase into the forest, didn't you?!"  
  
"If you hadn't picked up the dumb vase, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place!"  
  
"Now I suppose you're going to say, 'If Mo hadn't tripped over the vase, I wouldn't have picked it up,'" Eriol interrupted. "Let's just go and find it!"  
  
"That'd take all night! And it's getting dark already!" Boston groaned.  
  
"Seriously," Zach said.  
  
"I be telling girls to tell Terada-sensei that we be on field trip, but still, it will take a long time."  
  
"Why don't we take turns?" Ashanti suggested.  
  
"Like shifting assignments?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Yes, exactly," Ashanti said.  
  
Everyone murmured in agreement.  
  
"Alright. Eriol be going first, then Ashanti, then Boston, then Zach, then Mo, then Cohn, and then Sakura. Each of you be having ten minutes," Carrie concluded.  
  
But everyone had gone three times until it was, at last, again it was Sakura's turn. It was 9:30 when she had entered the bushes again. She sighed and fell down to her dirty knees and started to search again.  
  
"Why don't you just give up?" Syaoran sighed. He had to sit there until someone found the vase so he could be treated instantly.  
  
"Because a friend is in need," Sakura smiled.  
  
Syaoran blushed slightly and went back to waiting quietly while Sakura searched through all of the junk (she was careful to avoid the dead bodies). Quite abruptly, Sakura jumped up in happiness. She ran over to Syaoran, holding the piece of the vase.  
  
Syaoran smiled and reached for it, but suddenly it exploded and shards of glass hit Sakura all along her arms and in her stomach like mini daggers. The pain was too much and she fainted.  
  
"My love, please," Ai pleaded. " I need you. She bent for a kiss, and Syaoran caught himself leaning forward. He jumped away and ran over to Sakura. He could tell how badly the damage was, and it wasn't good.  
  
"My love," Ai repeated. Syaoran could feel her right behind him. He had enough of this. He felt Ai's hand rest on Syaoran's shoulder, but he brushed it off and leaned forward to kiss Sakura with the heaviest of heavy hesitations.  
  
And she was gone. Syaoran couldn't hear her pleads nor feel her standing next to him anymore. He turned around and he couldn't see her.  
  
"Syaoran…?" Sakura asked, wincing slightly, waking up from what must've been a deep, deep sleep.  
  
"Syaoran? Sakura!" Carrie yelled. "We need to be getting you back to the cabins! Boys! Ashanti, Boston! Help!"  
  
And so they rushed Sakura back to the cabins and Eriol, Mo, Cohn, and Zach pressed Syaoran for the information about what happened to make him get broken out of the spell and what had happened to Sakura. Syaoran didn't tell a word, though.  
  
The home of the Evermore family was once again deserted, and the tree's white petals floated down to the ground as if they were tears.  
  
  
  
END of chapter 3 


End file.
